oh my! Getting to Xi’an wasn’t easy! First of all I had to chose from 3 different options: cheap 16 hour sleeper train, “expensive” ...

Xi'an

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oh my! Getting to Xi’an wasn’t easy! First of all I had to chose from 3 different options: cheap 16 hour sleeper train, “expensive” 6 hour fast train, or more expensive 1.5 hrs flight. I really did not want to sleep in a train by myself and having to take care of my belonging and the thought of a dirty bathroom really did not appeal to me! Going on a plane seemed like a good idea but taxis and the time to get there adds up so I decided to pay for the train because my two last trips on fast train have been really good!


I got to the Beijing terminal early and it was really hard to figure out the way but finally made it! Was one of the first to get in and had space to nicely tuck my bag and take a sit. A chinese man sat next to me but I didn’t expect what happened next… He fell asleep! And he snored super duper loudly in my ear!!!!!! For at least 3 hours! I couldn’t believe it! It gave me such a big headache (and I even put my headphones on!)

Once in Xi’an I took the metro and got to my hostel no problem. In the room I met a Chinese girl, Taylor, and I asked if she wanted to join me to go see the water show by the big great goose pagoda.

The show is supposed to be the biggest water show in Asia and it was actually really nice, there was music being played and water sprouting accordingly.




After the show we went looking for some food!

Lots of caramelized fruits!






The next morning I had signed up to go on a free walking tour from the hostel. It was rainy and cold so with a raincoat on and an umbrella we went to explore the city.

In all fairness I didn’t think there was much to explore but it was nice to be with a local. The guide told us that Chinese children attend school for free but most parents spend a lot of money every month paying for all the extra classes children receive such as math, piano, and many many other subjects. She also said that kids are expected to do 3 hours of homework every single night and that kids get no time to play. How sad is that? My favorite memories as a child are those when I’m doing things with friends!




This is the Chinese post... I wonder how things get to their destination!!!! 







 Eating the typical food of Xi'an.. a soft bun with pork.


Funny picture... here in China people put platic bags on their feet to protect their shoes from the rain.




After the tour was over I decided to go on my own to see the fanous Terracota Warriors!
Took a bus to the central station to get the 306 bus all the way to the Terracota warriors.

Once there I had to pay the $25 fee and started to walk towards the main entrance. Of course there were shuttle busses for 5 yuans to take people in a 2 min ride instead of walking on a straight path for 7 minutes! It's unbelievable!

A friend had told me to start in pit #3 and work my way up to #1 otherwise I wouldn't be impressed. After walking around for an hour or two I do get the history behind the Terracota warriors and why they are impressive but I thought they were not that worth it. 
The warriors are one of the greatest archeological sites in the world, there are hundreds of life size warriors made of clay; they were originally made to be burried with the first emperor Qin to safeguard and serve him in his after life.

The warriors  can barely be seen unless you have a good lens and the most special aspect of the Terracota warriors, in my opinion, is that they are all different.











Pit # 1... The biggest one of all! 
Pretty cool to see how many warriors there are but a shame that they are so far away one can't look at the details on their faces and bodies.











After the visit to the warriors I spent the night walking through the market in the Muslim quarter... a must do when in Xi'an!

The drum tower from the bus




Here are the potatoes that I got... super duper salty! :( 


Skewers everywhere!

Buns anyone?


I looked at this woman for good 5 minutes, she played that frog the whole time with her eyes closed! I wondered if she was half asleep!




The lady that sold me something to eat that I have no idea what it was!




They cut fresh meat right in front of your eyes!


Make way for the soda boy in a tricycle!


The guy in the background is stretching candy, to make the one that is on the green plate!

Kiwis anyone?!?



While in Xi'an I also visited the Great Mosque. It was strange to see all the Chinese Muslim people, maybe because of the stereotype we have in our mind of how Muslim people should look.



Ritual Cleansing room!










From the mosque I kept walking around Xi'an and ended the day walking the city wall with my roommate from the hostel, Hannah.













Now that I'm done with Xi'an, off to Chengdu!!!


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About Post Author

Hi! It's me... Andrea! In 2016 I decided to drop everything and take a year to enrich my life and travel around the world. It turns out the world is just too big for 12 months! Still on the road and sharing my experience as a solo female traveler around the globe!

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About me




Hi! It's me... Andrea!

In this blog you can live vicariously through my journey around the world!

Please feel free to share tips or places to go!
Contact me: andreaheartstraveling@gmail.com